Tucson Zero Energy Home Opens with Ceremony and Tours on Earth Day; Energy-Efficient Home Designed to Produce as Much Energy as It Consumes

4/22/2003

From: Lisa Gibson of NAHB Research Center, 800-638-8556 ext. 6269 or lgibson@nahbrc.org

TUCSON, Ariz., April 22 -- Today, Tucson builder John Wesley Miller, in partnership with the NAHB Research Center and Tucson Electric Power, celebrated Earth Day with the grand opening of Tucson's own Zero Energy Home (ZEH). Ceremonies began at 10 a.m., with tours of the home immediately following. The home is located at 458 East Downtown Street/3rdAvenue and 16th Street in Tucson.

Zero Energy Homes combine state-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction and appliances with commercially-available renewable energy systems. The homes, like most other homes, are connected to the utility grid, but overall, with their reduced energy needs and electricity generated by the sun, they produce as much energy as they consume. Tucson Electric Power has agreed to run the home's meter backward and credit homeowners when the home's renewable energy systems put power back into the grid.

NAHB Research Center president Mike Luzier said, "Tucson's Zero Energy Home is a prime example of energy-efficient building design and practices. Our work with the John Wesley Miller Companies models the the practical application of energy producing and conserving technologies that protect the Earth's natural resources. What better time than Earth Day to celebrate innovation and progress toward a more energy-efficient tomorrow."

"I am proud of the high-quality product that we have constructed in partnership with the NAHB Research Center and Tucson Electric Power," said builder John Wesley Miller. "This home proves that energy-efficient, attractive, and affordable housing can be a reality with smart planning and development."

NAHB Research Center staff will monitor energy use and other vital information to prepare an evaluation of the home. Once documented, these results will be made available NAHB Research Center's technical website, http://www.toolbase.org. For more information on the ZEH, contact Jeannie Sikora at (301) 430-6289 or jsikora@nahbrc.org.

------ The NAHB Research Center, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., is known as America's Housing Technology and Information Resource. In its nearly 40 years of service to the home building industry, the NAHB Research Center has provided product research and building process improvements that have been widely adopted by home builders in the United States. Through testing and certification services, the NAHB Research Center seal is recognized throughout the world as a mark of product quality and an assurance of product performance.

NOTE TO EDITORS ON STYLE USAGE: In order to identify this company and its work correctly "NAHB Research Center" is the only acceptable and accurate reference.